Actions Speak Louder Than Words
by stuckbeingrachel
Summary: '"You joked about me liking you?" she said slowly. "No. You falling for me, which is a completely different thing." He shook his head. "Yeah, well I don't appreciate you making fun of me ever falling for you. I already did." She grumbled and started to walk away from him.'


**I don't really know where this came from and I personally don't think it's my best. I didn't think it through, it just sort of poured outa me...enjoy?**

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Mara frowned. They were all laughing, not noticing that the person that they were all laughing at had just walked into the room. One glance to the stage and she saw the reason for their laughter. Jerome stood there, looking out of the crowd, a huge grin on his pale face. As soon as his ice blue eyes landed on her, she broke. His eyes widened at the sight of her.

Her eyes watered and she darted down the hallway. She burst out of the school and started walking through the yard. She had no destination. She was just going to keep walking until she felt like she should stop. But she didn't want to stop. She wanted to get as far away from the school, the students, from…_him_. As she neared the edge of the woods, she heard her name being called. Ignoring it completely, she pushed into the brush and weaved her way in and out of the trees and bushes.

"Mara, stop," Jerome called.

Her brown eyes released their tears and she wiped them from her cheeks roughly. She was sad and embarrassed and…angry. She was so angry at him. What had he said? Did he tell them any of her biggest secrets, the one's she was stupid enough to trust him with? She had walked in on him and the entire student body. She hadn't heard all of what he'd said but she heard her name right before everyone started laughing. He'd looked happy. He'd caused their laughter. And it was obviously not about him if he was grinning.

He followed her through the thick forest, ducking under branches and jumping over roots faster than she did and he caught her in a clearing. He gripped her elbow and whipped her around to look at him.

"Wait, you don't know what happened." He pleaded. His eyes flitted around the clearing and he swallowed. "Let's go somewhere else."

"No, I don't want to go anywhere with you." she pushed away from him and continued walking.

"Mara, let me explain." he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the clearing. They were now in front of the old Frobisher library. The once blue sky above them darkened but they didn't even notice. "They were just laughing at the joke I cracked, I wasn't making fun of you; I was making fun of me."

"Well, what joke could you have cracked about Mara Jaffray that was to make fun of you that was so hilarious?" she sneered. She was still so angry at him, more for the tears streaming down her face that he had caused than the joke he'd supposedly cracked about himself that caused everyone to laugh at her.

"All I said was, 'but then again, how could she not fall for this. Well, I'll tell you how she would; we belong together, after all I'm Jerome Clarke and she's Mara Jaffray."

"You joked about me liking you?" she said slowly.

"No. You falling for me, which is a completely different thing." He shook his head.

"Yeah, well I don't appreciate you making fun of me ever falling for you. I already did." She grumbled and started to walk away from him.

"I didn't mean for it to come out like that. I just got uncomfortable. When I get uncomfortable I crack stupid jokes." He shrugged, trailing behind her. "I'm sorry—wait, what did you say?"

Mara was pulled back around to look at him. He held her shoulders firmly, keeping her in place so he could look into her dry and red, chocolate brown eyes. For a moment, she was lost in his mesmerizing eyes but she snapped out of it a moment later.

"Fine, I admit it, I fell for you. I fell for your stupid, immature pranking and your perverted jokes and your blonde hair and your blue eyes. I wish that I would have said yes the first time you asked me out. I wish that I didn't back away when you tried to kiss me that time. I wish I would have just given into you instead of running back to Mick all those times. You know you could have said something to me all those times, tell me you liked me, instead of embarrassing me in front of the whole student body. But no, you're Jerome Clarke, you don't fall in love."

Mara jerked away from him, feeling her eyes beginning to burn and after a moment she felt them become moist. Jerome was stupid. She was stupid for getting nervous and babbling like an idiot. She was stupid for falling in love with the blonde prankster and—

Her thoughts were abruptly cut off when she felt a hand encase her upper arm and pull her backwards. She let out a cry of surprise as she crashed into Jerome. Too embarrassed to look at him, she kept her attention focused on the brown leafs under their feet.

"Mara, look at me."

She ignored him, keeping her eyes on a particular orange leaf that had many tangled parts of its spine. Jerome gritted his teeth. He moved his hands from her shoulders to her neck, bringing his face closer to hers. His blue eyes pierced into hers, that time the usual glint of amusement was replaced with something else. Something Mara didn't recognize.

"You know the phrase, 'actions speak louder than words'?" he asked her.

She nodded her head.

Jerome brought his head down closer to hers, stopping a few inches away. "Want to hear something?"

"Yes," she whispered, her heart pounding so hard she thought it would burst out of her chest.

He moved closer again, his thin, pink lips not even a centimeter away from hers. "Good. Because I'm about to tell you how much I love you." With each word his lips just gently brushed against hers, and his warm, minty breath caressed them.

Her head spun already and as he brought his head forward to touch his lips to hers, she sighed in contentment. His pushed into hers and she dug her fingers into his blonde hair, unable to contain the love that she poured into the kiss. He did the same, wrapping his arms around her waist. His upper body moved closer to hers which caused her to bend back a little.

The world was then lost to them. And as they continued to spill their feelings for each other, the dark clouds above them released their crystal clear drops. They fell to Mara and Jerome and drenched them in seconds, melting the world around them.

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**That's it****...review?**

_**The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enable me to tread on the heights. For the director of music. On my stringed instruments. -Habakuk 3:19**_

**I love you guys!**

**-Rachel**


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